Water heritage
is dense and developed for centuries in Relleu, a small village in an arid area
not far away from the Mediterranean Sea in the southwest of Spain. There, men
have been working intensively along centuries to manage the scarce and
irregular water resources. Weirs, foggaras or qanats, terraces for cultivation,
ponds, aqueducts, water mills, dams, cisterns… can be found in the area as well
as remains of human settlements in the middle of a wild landscape which changed
along the centuries. A technological evaluation of hydropower and wise
irrigation facilities were barely needed in order to recover old, forgotten
knowledge of water conservation. In general, goof water heritage can be
currently found in relation with the poor economic agriculture in this arid
country.

Keywords: water heritage,
river basin, water culture, material and immaterial heritage

FOREWORD

It was a time,
when we were children, we used to play under the rare rain and without any
protection building small-scale dams, channels and irrigation systems, using
mud. Children were only allowed to use water from the runoff appearing the rare
days of rainfall. This happened in Relleu, a village in an arid country
southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Now, during the village festivities, “the
day of the bath” is celebrated: everybody in the street could receive or is
able to launch a pitcher of water. It is “the happiness and the luxury of
playing with water for one day a year”.

Those human
settlements where water has been precious for centuries, keep drops of the
amazing material and immaterial water heritage from an arid country where
unknown human beings - Iberians, Punics, Romans, Goths and Vandals (Theodomirus
kingdom), Muslims (Alxarquia), Aragonese and Catalans (Valencia kingdom)
Castilians (Alfarache revolution), Spaniards (Valencia country) and tourists
from worldwide - came and still come to
enjoy living.

CLIMATE

Relleu is located
in the Marina Baixa (Alicante, Spain) region, near the seaside of the
Mediterranean. Relleu is located in the upper part of the catchment of river
Amadorio, not far from the Aitana Mountains (Mother mountains), just where the
arid climate begins and the annual rainfall drops from 600 mm to 300 mm in a
few km. Rainfall arrives approximately in October rushing in fewer ours (local
intensity achieves from 50 to 130 mm/h) as it is said that in this country the
rain do not know how to rain. Evapotranspiration is around 700 mm/yr bigger
than rainfall. Nevertheless, energy coming from the sun allows growing
magnificent crops if people are capable to handle the scarce water resources. A
poetess (Mrs. Khalvari) wrote in 2010:

“You wouldn’t starve here,

living in the wild.

But you might die

of thirst, so dry is everything”

The water
culture in Relleu belongs mainly to the Muslim ages and is in a strong relation
with the venerable Tribunal de las Aguas (Water Court) which is still giving oral
sentences as used to give for centuries, from his quarters at the Apostles’
door of Valencia cathedral.

UNTIL THE LAST DROP

For centuries
this has been and is the aim of our water culture: to manage the scarce water
till the last drop (Barciela et al., 2013). There are two representations of
“bedecanters” (bed for jugs, pitchers) shown in Figure 1. There water collected
from spring or from cisterns for personal purposes was hold inside porous
ceramic jugs over a table (the bedecanter). Humidity from air condensate over
the ceramics of the jug and fall over the stone table, then drained through a
hole in the stone and drop by drop was collected in another jug or irrigated a
plant in a pot, usually Venus hair fern (Adiantum
capillus-veneris).

Wise old men
from the village, as tío (uncle) Miquel, exerted traditionally a control on the
irrigation of orchards, green growers’ parcels. Even if water was flowing from in
excess from the reservoir, they ordered to stop irrigating because flow rate
was not enough to supply water at a convenient speed. If water flooding soil did
not have the adequate flow, then was lost at the beginning of the plot by an excessive
infiltration. Studies had shown that, for the size of the usual plots in the
area the appropriate flow rate must be 30 L/s or more, as tío Miquel said, and then,
water consumptions are efficient enough. Those practices were absolutely
necessary, a question of survival, in arid areas (Figure 2b).

Water at home
was used and reused several times, in function of its cleanliness, as
industrial processes use and recycle water today. First water was used to wash
dishes or food in the kitchen, afterwards the same water could be used for
other purposes (e.g. cleaning soils) and at the end to moisten the dust in the
patio or to irrigate a tree.

WATER COLLECTING AND ADMINISTRATION

Surface water
collection from the river was performed by using little dams or weirs made of
mud (clay or lime) and stone or from natural pools in gullies (Figure 2a).
Afterwards, water was conducted by little channels for watering domestic
animals, then that water was used for washing
purposes (laundry) and at the end was collected in ponds (balsas). The original
ponds were an excavation covered by a layer of clay to make it impervious.

Figures 2.
(a) A natural pond in the river/gully and (b) The arid landscape near Relleu

Water from the
river, in the ponds and afterwards used to irrigate the fields was administered
and distributed according to a wise regulation and the councils of venerable
elders decided what must be done in case of doubts and disputes. At the
beginning of the agricultural period (October or September) and in April, the
council, considering the flow rate in the river and the recorded rainfall,
decided every year on the type of crops allowed and the area to be irrigated and
additionally, established a price for the water according to the budget of the
irrigation community. Water was supplied in strict turns. Knowledge on
astronomy, on climate and a lot of experience were used by the elder.

Far away from
the streams and rivers, channels or ditches (aigüeres, Figure 3a) dug in by the
skirts of the mountains, intercept the water runoffand
transport it to hyper-yearly reservoirs (Figure 3b) and ponds. The water was
sent from those ditches to different reservoirs and the distribution was made
using stones (partidors, Figure 3c).

Figure 3. (a)
Ditches, (b) A reservoir with backstay (counterfort), and (c) A partitioner
stone at the end of a ditch

The same was
done with water coming from springs, and terraces (“bancals”, Figure 4a) which
cover the landscape to catch water for maintaining during long time the soil
humidity or avoid runoff and water rushing (Figure 4b).

Figures 4 (a)
Ditches and (b) Reservoir with backstay (counterfort)

For personal consumptions
water was collected in underground reservoirs or cisterns, “aljubs”. After a
rain event, water runs (runoff) for a while over the soil, cleaning it at the
beginning of the episode. By the time, runoff becomes less murky and then is
derived to the cistern or “aljub”. Water, before entering the “aljub”, passes
two sedimentation basins and a plant filter. Water in the cistern received
sometimes a dose of quicklime which remained there for approximately two weeks
before being used for drinking purposes. During those two weeks fine silt
settled, and pathogens died by the combined action of high pH and heat
(disinfection) when quicklime passed to slaked lime. Sometimes a vertebrate,
usually an eel, was living in the cistern, acting as an instrument to control
potability.

Groundwater was
collected by using mines, galleries (Figure 5a) and wells constructed along the
valleys and in places where shallow alluvial geological structures promised
water. Sometimes a spring was the result of a gallery. Water scarcity conducted
to dig galleries under the riverbed, in the underlying material and even to
transport water from a catchment to another (Figure 6a). Even in the XIX
century a company was created to look for water excavating a mine (Figure 6c).
In Relleu there are still foggaras or qanats (Figure 5b) and Ferris wheels
(Figure 6b).

Figures 5. (a)
Ventilation well of a gallery, and (b) Water in a Foncar’s qanat or foggara
maintenance hole

Figures 6. (a)
“Modern” Ferris wheel, (b) A tunnel to transfer water to other catchment, and
(c) A mine company share

THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE MILLS

In the upper
part of the river Amadorio there are ancient water mills, several irrigation
networks and the remains of a little dam, “el Pantanet” (the small dam), build
to collect drainage from the irrigation system, and there is the jewel of the
crown, an old dam, an arc dam, nearly a vault dam, built on ashlar stones,
Relleu dam: “el Pantano de Relleu” (Soler, M.A., 1996 and Benesit, 2002)

About the origin
and structure of the mills it is to say that water was derived from the river
and went to the mill by a little channel. Water arrived to the “balsa” or water
reservoir/pond of the mill. The “balsa” was connected with the tower or
chimney, named “pou” or “cup” (well). At the basis of the tower it is a cave
(the “cacao”), where the exit of water from the tower (the segitia or sagetia)
is found. The exit is controlled by a wooden vane (the “morrera”) which, when
open, forms a jet that impacts in the blades of the turbine. The turbine has an
axis on wood or iron (“arbre” (tree) if made on wood or “palaferro” if made on
iron). The shape of the tower is like a ziggurat of three or four levels.The tower wall is made of stones. The
thickness of the wall is larger in the base and smaller in the top. Thickness
is the appropriate to support the strength generated by the hydrostatic water
pressure. The tower is approximately 11 m high.

Turbines (wheels)
are open and in some way seem a Francis’ one but works as a Pelton turbine. At
the beginning, turbines were made of pine green wood. The resin of pine waterproofs
wood and then the turbine became nearly eternal. Turbines on wood (Figure 7a)
were substituted by iron ones (Figure 7b) because the energetic efficiency of
the iron turbines was higher than the one from turbines made on wood.

When calculating
the hydraulics and energy parameters of the mill, the data found are: elevation
capacity 11 m, flow rate 25 L/s, maximum section of the jet 0.1 x 0.05 m2,
speed of the turbine 90 r.p.m., radius of the turbine 0.7 m, and deflection
angle of the blades 120o. Water speed of the jet was 10.3 m/s, peripheral
speed 3.3 m/s (very close to the optimum 1/3 of 10.3 m/s), force in the blade
25 kg (245 N), torch 8,75 mkg (85,75 Nm) and
power 82.46 mkg/s (1,1 H.P.).

The mill was
offering a maximum production capacity, depending of hydrology and axis system,
of around 250,000 kg of grain (cereals, wheat, barley, and corn) for each mill
and year.

The description
of non-hydraulic machinery as filters, mill stone is not presented. When the non-consumptive
use of water of a single mill finished, after losing head, then water was caught
for feeding a new mill; so mills were constructed one after each other along
the river and were even using water from the irrigation system because, very
often, all water flowing on the river was extracted by the irrigation system
and returned there. Little by little water availability resources decreased along
the centuries and it became necessary to supply additional power with engines
and electricity.

The first mill upwards
is located at the beginning of river Amadorio, just after the junction of two
branches, river Garrigós and river Escuders. The name of this mill is Palanquetes
or Rabós (Figure 8a). There was registered the first dead caused by a labor
accident. The owner, Rabós, went inside the “cacau” or gallery where the
hydraulic turbine was placed. At that moment there was not water jet because
the orifice was clogged by debris. He tried to unclog the orifice with a stick
and water started to rush and pushed the turbine to run. The turbine wound
Rabós seriously and he died after few hours.

Figures 8. (a)
The tower of Rabos’ mill (Palanquetes), and (b) The tower of Old mill (Moli
Vell)

Going down the
river the water intake for the Tosca’s mills and for the irrigation network is
found. Water used to flow in a channel to a point where there the Tosca spring
is located. Both waters, from the channel and from the river, supplied energy to
the two Tosca’s mills (Figure 9a). Because water from the Tosca spring is too
carbonated, carbonate precipitates are forming the well-known Tosca’s stone. A
beautiful Tosca’s stone’ can be seen in place. At the beginning of 20th
century there was an unsuccessful project to use both water sources to generate
electricity (Figure 9b).

Not far from the
Tosca the remnants of an Iberian village can be found. Also not far away, in
the gorge of the Amadorio, the remnants of a Roman garrison tower, at the side
of the ancient track connecting villages, are found.

Water goes
further on; flowing by the system, river and channel, and arrives to the Old
Mill (Molí Vell, Figure 8b) more than 400 years old. There are documents
indicating that that the first Molí Vell paid taxes to the landlord in the
Middle Ages. There is another history about the Molí Vell. A daughter killed
his father making the hydraulic turbine start while dad was repairing the
machinery. This was the revenge for an incestuous behavior.

Following the
water track the Llixandre’s mill (Llixandre, Iskandar, Xicandar, Alexander;
Figure 9c) appears. After it, arriving to Relleu, the upper mill (Figure 10b)
and the downwards mill are found. There the drinking trough (Figure 10a), the
public laundry (Figure 10c) and an irrigation basin can be seen. During the
way, water has been irrigating the orchards (“hortes”) and will continue
irrigating till the last drop.

Figures 10
(a) Drinking trough, (b) The “cacau” or cave in the upper mill (Xorro), and (c)
The public laundry

Ancient works to
control the scarce water in the area produced other material heritage as the
Aljazeera, the “alcavo” (tunnel), aqueducts (Arca, Figures 11a and 11b) and the
Arca drainage system in the Margelets (marjals or “marsh”) and at the end of
the irrigation system the remnants of a little dam, the Pantanet (Figure 11c),
nearly destroyed after a strong rainfall event and the subsequent high flow
episode (Benesit, 2002).

Figures 11 (a)
The Arc (aqueduct Middle Age aqueduct), (b) The Arca (aqueduct), and (c) The
remnants of the Pantanet (little dam)

THE MASTER PIECE, THE DAM OF RELLEU.

River Amadorio
changed its way from the “Salts” (the falls) were possibly existed a waterfall,
for a new pathway to go straight to the sea. The river has been digging the
named dam gorge. The entry of the gorge is a very good place to build a dam. La
Vilajoiosa (the Happy Village) at the end of the Amadorio River and just by the
seaside, needed water and obtained a permission to build a dam there. Relleu villagers
were angry because malaria and other diseases were at that time related with stagnant
water and the profits of this water would be for la Vilajoiosa and not for Relleu.
King Felipe (Philip) III granted a permission to Cristobal Antonelli to project
a new dam where previously existed a little one. As the traditions say, Saint
Marta statue dropped tears which helped to obtain the approval for building the
dam in 1653 governing Felipe IV.

Relleu’s dam
(Figures 12) is the first one which was built as and arc, nearly a vault. Its
main data are: length in the top 40 m, length in the base 2 m, height 28 m,
thickness from the base to the bottom 10 m. The Relleu dam was the most slender
for years till 1830 when Zola dam was built in Italy (Fontana et al., 2012).

Figures 12. (a)
The gorge dam from the top of the wall, (b) The wall and tower from the vessel,
and (c) Water flowing over the wall

Figures 13.
Up: (a). Section of the wall and (b) Pedestrian entry (from Pablo Gimenez Font,
Geography School, University of Alacant) and Down: (a) From the gorge, up is
the pedestrian door and down the water outfall door and (b) The vane system

It is
interesting to highlight that Relleu’s dam has a very little secondary dam located
in a tributary river. The secondary dam passes water to the big dam through a
channel dug in the stone.

THE LOCAL WATER LAW

To manage water
in Relleu, oral traditional rules are used. The origin of the rules is lost in
the time; Iberian? Punic? Roman? Muslim? In the year 1957 the rules were
written, printed, published and approved by the watershed basin authority
(Confederación Hidrográfica del Júcar).

The maintenance,
collection and distribution of water, water uses allowed, sanctions, how to
establish water price, and more important, how to define yearly the expected
water availability, the surface to be irrigated and crops and type of
cultivation allowed are described in the approved text. Forecast is done by the
elected wise men of the community. Since it is annoying for farmers to lose
their work and the expected crop due to lack of water in the middle of the
agricultural campaign, the role of the elder is paramount for the wellness of
the country and this is why the wise man try to manage irrigation in a
conservative way.

A very hard time
has arrived because the administration is wishing to change the irrigation
system of channels by pipes that will broke the traditional rules in a time
when water is more and more scarce and no money is available for the additional
investments needed.

Similar regulations
exist for other little irrigation facilities existing in the Amadorio River; Solted
River, Teuladi and Xauxets. Several litigations have been documented for
Palanquetes and Valverde wells. Several miracles related to water, prayers,
special processions… can be found in old books and paintings in the churches of
the area.

CONCLUSION

Similar
water-related infrastructures can be found all over the Mediterranean due to
the heritage of the diverse civilizations that occupied the shores of the
basin, traditionally an area of cultural exchange. Water related features are
part of the Mediterranean landscape and must be carefully studied and
maintained. Relleu is wishing to be one more of the villages wishing to
preserve the water-related material and immaterial heritage which will help to
make a better use of water resources at present times.

A miracle of
Mother of God, the Muslim’s Lady of the Rain, will be necessary to solve the
problems related with scarce water in arid countries, to help changing the
irrigation system and, finally, to safeguard the precious water heritage
existing in Relleu. All of you are invited to visit this water heritage.